The capital of the Far Eastern Soviet Socialist Republic, Chita.

Comrade Stalin arrived in Chita on October 20, 1919, by special train. Most of the city has now been captured by units of the Eastern Front of the Russian Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. However, there were still a large number of Japanese troops and remnants of the Xianbeilian puppet army entrenched in some of the fortified buildings in the city, and the fighting was fierce in some areas! For example, the Japanese troops entrenched around the former headquarters of the Japanese Simperian Dispatch Army and the Simbrian puppet army guarding the building of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Semberia were resisting with all their might.

In addition, there were sporadic battles in areas that were largely controlled by the Red Army. There were quite a few small groups of Japanese troops and Xianbeilian puppet troops scattered in all corners of the city, from time to time firing cold shots at the Red Army patrols near them, and at the same time attracting Red Army detachments to encircle and suppress them.

It was in the midst of the incessant sound of gunfire and greeted by a group of high-ranking officers of the Red Army that Stalin stepped off the train as a victor. The officers of the Red Army were all dressed in straight uniforms and saluted him respectfully. The Red Army military band played the solemn "Internationale" on the platform. Everyone looked at Stalin with reverence, as if he were a great leader. But Stalin knew that most of these Red Army generals were Trotsky's men! Except for the few Chinese who had already written their anxiety and horror on their faces, they were now all suspects of leftist elements, and their Eastern Army also lost nearly half of them in the Battle of Chita, if the Russian GCD was ready to unload and kill donkeys. These people have no power to resist!

However, Stalin strode towards Zhang Guotao, the leader of this group of Chinese, and stretched out his right hand to him with a smile: "Comrade Zhang Guotao, I have heard about the affairs of your family, and these are all crimes committed by leftist revisionists!" This revenge must be avenged in the future when the Chinese revolution is victorious! Comrade Lenin also entrusted me with my condolences to you. ”

Zhang Guotao's hands were clenched, his eyes were red, and tears came down: "Thank you Comrade Lenin, thank you Comrade Stalin for your relationship with me." Speaking of this, Zhang Guotao was already a little crying, it seems that he has suffered some unfortunate incident!

It's actually not a big deal. It's just that Zhang Guotao's younger brother Zhang Guoyan came to Soviet Russia from China a while ago, found Zhang Guotao, and brought him a piece of news. Belch. It can't be said to be bad news, that is, their reactionary father Zhang Pengxiao was sentenced to death and executed by the poor peasant association in Shangsu County in the "Pingxiang-Shangsu Uprising" led by Comrade Mao Zd! At the same time, several uncles and uncles of the Shangsu Zhang family were executed, all of whom were feudal landlords and feudal bureaucrats who stubbornly adhered to the counterrevolutionary stance! It's really not enough to be angry if you don't kill!

If Comrade Zhang Guotao was a Bolshevik who had truly betrayed the reactionary family, he should have applauded when he heard the good news!

However, he and most of the Russian GCD leaders of his time seem to have always applied two different sets of criteria when dealing with their own reactionary fathers and the reactionary fathers of others, such as Trotsky, who took his landlord father to Moscow to be blessed rather than killed. Comrade Lenin's father, who made His Majesty the Tsar's Provincial Director of National Education, was also portrayed as a fair and good officer. Even Comrade Dzerzhinsky, who was steely, did not send his Polish noble relatives to Lubyanka's prison one by one.

And we, Comrade Zhang Guotao, who was deeply poisoned by China's feudal etiquette and religion, regarded Mao Zd, who presided over the "Pingxiang-Shangsu Uprising," as a mortal enemy who did not share the sky, and was really reactionary to the extreme!

However, his reactionary ideas were appreciated by Stalin, who never saw Zhang Guotao as a Trotskyist man. He was introduced to Lenin by himself, and later served in the Cheka system for a long time, and belonged to his own line. And Chang Ruiqing and Mao ZD killed Zhang Guotao's family again, and the hatred between them cannot be resolved. So now is the time to take Zhang Guotao and the tens of thousands of Chinese Red Army under his command for his own use

Thinking of this, Stalin whispered a few words of comfort to Zhang Guotao. Then he got into the car prepared for him by the Eastern Front and rushed to the headquarters of the Eastern Front, which had just moved into Chita City, and held an operational meeting attended by the main generals of the Eastern Front.

In the conference room, around the huge map platform, the generals of the Soviet Russian Red Army, including the commander of the Eastern Front Frunze and the political commissar Skryansky, gathered together. As a member of the Far Eastern Revolutionary Military Committee, Zhang Guotao also attended the meeting with Ren Fuchen, commander of the Eastern Army. The first was Frunze's briefing on the latest military intelligence to Stalin.

The approximate dispositions of the warring parties are indicated on the map. Chita, as the biggest result of the battle, was already in the pocket of the Red Army, while the Japanese and the squadron that withdrew from Chita retreated in two ways. Among them, the Japanese army retreated to Manchuria along the Eastern Railway, but on the front line of Zhalanuoer in the east of Manchuria, the Red Army and a part of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Army of about 30,000 troops had already dug trenches and arranged a defensive line, just waiting for the Japanese army to crash into it! The rest continued to wreak havoc along the western section of the China Eastern Railway, delaying the Chinese reinforcements.

The squadron that withdrew from Chita fled along the Trans-Siberian Railway, presumably to cross the Amur River and return home. The Red Army did not have any large forces in this direction, so it was ready to send troops in pursuit. However, the entire Eastern Front did not take this squadron too seriously, and their main attention was focused on Manchuria.

According to intelligence, some Japanese troops had already withdrawn there, but there was no sign of breaking through the siege and fleeing eastward, but they were building fortifications around the city of Manchuria, and it seemed that they were ready to hold on to help. In addition, the intelligence officers of the Russian G lurking in Manchuria also reported: A large number of squadrons are heading north by train, and there seem to be signs of reinforcements of the Japanese army in Manchuria! The vanguard of the squadron has arrived at Yakeshi, an important town at the western foot of the Great Khing'an Mountains, and is preparing to open up the connection between Yakeshi and Hailar.

It's obvious. The main battlefield of the next stage of the Sino-Japanese Russo-Japanese War is on the front line of Manchuria! The Red Army must annihilate more than 200,000 Japanese troops holding Manchuria before the squadron opens the line of communication between Manchuria and Hailar, and then break the main force of the Chinese Defense Army aided from the west, so as to lock in the victory of the war on the Eastern Front!

After Frunze expressed his opinion, most of the Red Army generals praised his opinion. They all eagerly hoped that the Eastern Front would immediately launch the Battle of Manchuria, and they were full of confidence in the victory of the battle.

Stalin nodded with satisfaction, after winning the Battle of Chita. The entire Eastern Front was filled with optimism. Stalin, of course, was no exception, and he glanced at everyone with blazing eyes, and loudly announced: "Instructions from the Political Bureau: The task of the Eastern Front in 1919 is to fight as hard as possible. Strive to defeat Japanese imperialism and Chinese revisionism! Liberate the entire Far East, Manchuria and Mongolia! ”

Speaking of this, he suddenly turned his gaze to Blyukhel, the political commissar of the Eastern Legion: "Comrade Blyukhel, liberate the Far Eastern Soviet Socialist Republic. And the task of pursuing the Chinese reactionary troops fleeing along the Trans-Siberian Railway is entrusted to you, the Eastern Army. ”

His order surprised both Frunze and Skryansky. According to the previous tacit understanding of the Russian and G high-level, the Eastern Army should be eliminated as cannon fodder! Stalin glanced at them lightly and pointed in the direction of Manchuria on the map: "After the task of liberating the Far East is completed, the Eastern Army will restore its Chinese nationality and return to Manchuria to undertake a new mission, which is also the instruction of Comrade Lenin!" ”

A military column roared in, and under the instruction of the signal flag raised by the Japanese side of the former South Manchurian Railway, which was temporarily retained, it let out a long hiss, and then spit out a large amount of white gas, slowed down, and began to slowly drive into the Shenyang South Railway Station.

This column carried nearly 20,000 officers and soldiers of the 104th Division of the Japanese Army. They were urgently transported to Lushun after the Korean ** uprising. The original plan was to move to Uiju and attack Pyongyang from the north and south. However, the shape of the "Four-Power War" has undergone drastic changes, and the Japanese military headquarters can no longer take care of Korea for the time being, and this division has now been transferred to the battle in the western section of the Middle East Road. Along with the 104th Division, General Yoshiko Akiyama, who was preparing to go to Korea to take over as commander of the Korean garrison, was transferred to the Middle East Road Battlefield, and his latest position was Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Sino-Japanese Joint Command.

On the platform of Shenyang South Railway Station. General Lu Yixuan, deputy commander-in-chief of China's Northeast Front Army and deputy commander-in-chief of the Sino-Japanese Joint Command, had been waiting there for a long time. This Sino-Japanese joint command is the product of two days of urgent consultations between Chang Ruiqing and the representatives of the Japanese side, and it can nominally command all the Chinese and Japanese troops in the current Manchurian and Mongolian and Simberian Republics. The commander-in-chief of the joint command is led by Chang Ruiqing himself, but the actual commander-in-chief is indeed the four deputy commanders-in-chief, Bai Chongxi, Lu Yixuan, Prince Zairen of Xianyuan Palace, and this Akiyama Kokogu general. It's a real command to bargain with, but it's better than nothing.

Although ready for a quarrel, but on the surface. Lu Yixuan and his Chinese staff officers still looked respectful, waiting there in the most standard posture of soldiers, watching the military train slowly slide into the station. The car slowly stopped, and in the midst of the white air, I saw a "European" wearing a khaki Japanese general's uniform and the rank of a general walking down with a stern expression. As the de facto head of the General Staff of the Wehrmacht, Lu Yixuan certainly studied his potential opponents, including Japan's "Akiyama brothers" -- Akiyama Yoshiko and Akiyama Shinyuki. And the tall old man in front of him, with fair skin, a towering nose, and a mustache, looks like a Western devil no matter how you look at it, is the elder brother of the Akiyama brothers, Akiyama Yoshiko, he is a famous Japanese cavalry commander. In his early years, he studied in France and mastered the essence of cavalry warfare, and later participated in the Sino-Japanese War, the Eight-Nation Coalition War, and the Russo-Japanese War.

Akiyama's eyes also fell on the general of the Chinese National Defense Forces on the platform. On the way from Lushun, the former governor of Kwantung and now the chief of staff of the Joint Command, Nobu-chun Aoki, had already introduced him to the deputy chief of the general staff of the Chinese Wehrmacht Army, who had studied in Germany and participated in the European War.

Akiyama stretched out his hand to Lu Yixuan very enthusiastically and spoke fluent German: "What about General Bai Chongxi?" Is he preparing a battle plan in the General Headquarters now? This time I was in a hurry and didn't have time to prepare a plan. If your plan is okay, then save me trouble. ”

Hearing Qiu Shan's straightforward question, Lu Yixuan didn't say anything to greet, he smiled lightly: "General Bai has already gone to the Hailar front line to take charge. As for the battle plan, we will do our best to mobilize troops for the battle on the Middle Road, but the mobilization of 300,000 troops will always take time, and we hope that Manchuria will be built for at least 12 days, and it will be better if it can be held for 15 days. Furthermore. We also hope that you can provide a few heavy artillery wings, and the infantry will not need much. ”

The two walked side by side towards the waiting car outside the station, and Akiyama nodded. seemed to be satisfied with Lu Yixuan's answer: "Okay, according to your plan, we will defend Manchuria as much as possible." However, the supplies of the Simberian army were insufficient, and the ammunition could only last for 10 to 12 days, and the food supply was only about six days. ”

"Don't worry about food, the Chinese garrison and residents in Manchuria have a winter's food in their hands. Now the problem is still ammunition, and the harassment of the Russian cavalry is delayed, and the Soviet Russia has placed two cavalry corps in the Hulunbuir steppe, both of which are elite Cossack cavalry. Our cavalry is no match for them, so the battle to open the lines of communication will probably take a little time. ”

"Isn't it the Cossack cavalry! Leave it to us! Akiyama laughed, and didn't seem to take the Cossack cavalry in his eyes: "Our Japanese cavalry is the best in the world, and now there is a cavalry group under the Far Eastern Army, and I immediately transferred them to the western section of the Middle East Road." ”

Akiyama's words are not boasting. It's just a bit outdated. In the Russo-Japanese War of 1905, he commanded two Japanese cavalry brigades to inflict heavy losses on a Russian cavalry corps, killing a mountain of Cossack cavalry. Hearing that Akiyama was confident in dealing with the cavalry army of Soviet Russia, Lu Yixuan's mood suddenly relaxed a lot, and he began to introduce the general situation of the two red cavalry armies to Akiyama in detail.

However, at this time, Bai Chongxi, who had just arrived in Yakeshi. But not as optimistic as Akiyama Yoshiko. Now the Eastern Railway has also passed here, and the railway to the west has been destroyed by the cavalry troops of Soviet Russia and Mongolia! And now the Hulunbuir grassland has almost become the world of the Soviet-Mongolian cavalry. The Mongolian tribes in the steppe were almost all "conquered" by the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Army. Bartol also openly declared that the border between the Mongolian People's Republic and the Republic of China is in the Great Khing'an Mountains!

At present, the squadron is west of the Great Khing'an Mountains, and it only controls the three disconnected strongholds of Manchuria, Hailar, and Yakeshi. And opening up the communication line between these three strongholds is the key to the victory or defeat of this Manchuria conference.

Although in the era when machine guns and artillery dominated the battlefield, no matter how elite the cavalry was, it was impossible for them to really control the battlefield. However, they were able to buy precious time for their allies, and it would take at least a month for the Wehrmacht infantry to build fortifications along the way to open up lines of communication! By that time, the more than 200,000 Japanese troops in Manchuria would have been wiped out long ago, and the Wehrmacht would lose the opportunity to cooperate with the Japanese army and inflict heavy losses on the Soviet Russian Red Army.

Of course, Bai Chongxi also had a way to deal with the situation of the total annihilation of the Japanese Xianbeilian Dispatch Army. He estimated that the Soviet Russian Red Army would not put the Chinese in its eyes! After destroying more than 200,000 Japanese troops, they will definitely become arrogant soldiers, and they will continue to advance eastward regardless of their own losses and attrition, seeking the main force of the squadron for a decisive battle, while the squadron with superior strength can use guò defensive operations to inflict heavy losses on the Soviet Russian Red Army. But Bai Chongxi, who had never heard of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and did not have much ill feeling towards Japan, now hoped that he could cooperate with the Japanese army and basically wipe out the main force of the Soviet Russian Red Army on the Eastern Front!

It would be great if we could take the opportunity to counterattack into the territory of the Republic of Cibeilia and divide this 4 million square kilometers of land equally with Japan! Regarding Chang Ruiqing's current insistence on not making territorial claims to Soviet Russia, this Grand Commander Bai really does not agree with it in his heart.

Just as Bai Chongxi was frowning and standing in front of the map to think about countermeasures, he heard his chief of staff Huang Xuchu report: "The telegram from Deputy Commander Lu of Shenyang, he has already negotiated with the deputy commander of the Japanese side, General Yoshiko Akiyama. Japan will send a cavalry group for operations in the Hulunbuir direction! This cavalry group will reach Yakesh in two days and will be under our command. ”

Bai Chongxi turned around suddenly: "A Japanese cavalry group? Great, they can top at least one cavalry division of the Soviet Russian Red Army! Speaking of this, he paused: "Send a telegram to the joint command in Shenyang, asking the Japanese cavalry group to change into the military uniform of the Northeast Army, and call it the Third Cavalry Division of the Northeast Army to the outside world." ”

Huang Xuchu was stunned for a moment: "Jiansheng, what do you mean?"

Bai Chongxi smiled: "Of course, let the Japanese cavalry pretend to be pigs and eat tigers!" I've heard that the Japanese cavalry is quite elite. ”……)

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